Medical Malpractice - In The News



Brain-damage victim wins $11.3 million in Tripler suit

By Rod Ohira

HONOLULU - A federal judge has awarded $11.3 million to the family of a boy who suffered permanent brain damage due to negligence by Tripler Army Hospital personnel.

Eddy M. and Elizabeth Pineda successfully appealed a September 1992 ruling by U.S. District Judge Samuel P. King that Tripler Hospital was not negligent in its treatment of their then 2-month-old son, Jeshua, who suffered cardiopulmonary arrest in March 1987 while awaiting surgery for an unrelated condition.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reassigned the case to Judge David Ezra, who issued his ruling after reviewing a magistrate's recommendation for a total damage award of more than $12.4 million.

Ezra, however, trimmed $1.06 million from the recommended amount because the plaintiffs did not purchase attendant care for their son from March 9, 1987, through May 31, 1997.

"While Jeshua is entitled to damages so as to enable him to purchase future attendant care, nothing in Hawaii law entitles him to receive damages for care not purchased," Ezra said in his ruling.

The Pinedas were unavailable for comment.

In recommending lifetime attendant care for Jeshua, the magistrate noted the boy is severely retarded in motor skills.

"The prognosis for Jeshua in terms of his ability to care for himself is extremely bleak. Jeshua will not be able to take care of his daily needs in childhood and adulthood," the magistrate's report to Ezra noted.

"...He will need physical, occupational, speech and language therapy. He will never be gainfully employed. Jeshua will require more hospitalizations than the normal person because of his orthopedic problems."

The boy's condition has affected his family, Ezra said.

"Caring for Jeshua takes up most of Jeshua's other's time," Ezra said.

"These demands have already caused problems in her ability to attend to and relate to her other children and to her husband."